Simon Food Favourites: 7/1/09

31 July 2009

Meltdown of Adriano Zumbo Chocolate Mousse Cake: Masterchef Recipe (31 July 2009)

Super High Sugar Hit

Are we all sick and tired of hearing about the Adriano Zumbo Chocolate Mousse Cake yet?

As someone passionate about food I'm always keen to taste new things but making it myself is another story. I'm a keen supporter of the 'you cook it and I'll eat it' philosophy. While I wait to see if I'm a lucky lottery winner to buy one of the $90 limited edition cakes from Adriano Zumbo Pastisserie I thank my lucky stars that I work with Chef Dom who attempted the cake recipe over 2 long nights of preparation. I believe it was a very challenging recipe as EatShow&Tell, Tasted By Two, I'm Hungry Too and I'm sure many others have realised but I thankfully reap the benefits of Chef Dom's hard labour. He only had square tins and ran out of time to do the white tempered chocolate curls. His first attempt at the caramel failed and found some of the recipe ingredients hard to obtain.

The final appearance of the cake looked sadly like a bit of a chocolate car crash which was slowing melting away which Chef Dom was not happy with but the first slice revealed a perfectly layered cake worthy of Masterchef judging. Chef Dom did a great job and pleased the lucky few that sampled his amazing efforts. The taste of ginger throughout the apple tatin was excellent and helped to break up the heaviness of the chocolate taste and all the flavours including the caramel seemed to work very well together. A small slice was more than enough to get me bouncing off the walls with a sugar high.

If you can't be bothered trying to make it yourself, don't know anyone that will make it and didn't win a chance to buy one from Adriano Zumbo Pastisserie then try the Concorde cake from Bacco which I promise will deliver a satisfying chocolate hit as well.

The Cake aka The Chocolate Car Crash

The Perfect Layers

My Delicious Slice

The Meltdown

Watch the Meltdown in Action

Good Luck if you try!

30 July 2009

BaBa Laksa House: Malaysian, CBD Sydney (30 July 2009)

Grace Hotel, G8 Ground Floor

77-79 York Street, Sydney NSW 2000

Spicy & Tender Rendang

This Malaysian/Singaporean place is tucked inside the Grace Hotel and possibly overlooked by many pedestrians who aren't aware of it. The main things I like about this place is it's not as squashed and noisy as a food court, it has a nice decorative high ceiling and there's clean toilets available to use in the hotel lobby. It's also a great place to escape for lunch during really hot days because it's air conditioned. The beef rendang is quite nice today and the meat is tender enough. The curry sauce has a bit of a spicy kick to it which is good. I'm not sure why there's a side of capsicum, lettuce and cucumber salad (thinking it's very Italian) but it helps refresh the palette. I think having some large slices of cucumber would be a more welcomed side garnish to the dish. I was actually hoping to try the Hainanese Chicken Rice to compare to Jaya Malaysian and Sayong but it was sold out today.

Where's your favourite beef rendang in Sydney?

Rendang Lean Beef Curry Rice $10.50

Revisited 15 March 2012

Bak kut teh ($11.50) — quite a nice depth of flavour in broth

Hainanese Chicken Rice ($11.50) — breast ordered, rice flavoured, meat fairly tender but could be better, soup OK, chilli & ginger quite nice

Service counter

Fair amount of seating although noticed a sign on the Grace Hotel entrance that toilets are only for guests

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Seating area

Service counter

Signage

The Grace Hotel

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29 July 2009

Bacco Pasticceria: Better than the Adriano Zumbo Chocolate Mousse Cake, Sydney (29 July 2009)

LG03, Chifley Plaza, 2 Chifley Square, Sydney NSW 2000

http://www.bacco.com.au

Tower of Chocolate Heaven

OK, so I haven't actually tried the much talked about Adriano Zumbo Chocolate Mousse Cake as seen on Masterchef ... couldn't afford to buy it at the Charity Cake Auction ... can't really be bothered trying to cook it myself like EatShow&Tell, Tasted By Two and I'm Hungry Too ... and I've probably got Buckley's chance of having the opportunity to buy one of the 100 limited edition $90 cakes from Adriano Zumbo Pastisserie during August ... so for all of those who are in the same boat I'm saying right here, right now, this $5 amazing chocolate cake sensation from Bacco Pasticceria is by far the easiest and cheapest way you're going to be fully satisfied and tantalize your chocolate craving taste buds!

So what are you waiting for? Turn off those reruns of Masterchef, stop trying to make a 4 hour cake, stop praying to try and win a chance to buy a cake against the other 4000+ lottery entries, get off your butt, make the effort and buy yourself one of these babies before you miss out and they become unavailable. You won't regret it!

Other visits to Bacco:
• 21 Sept 2010 - Toasted foccacia with prosciutto, bocconcini, rocket and tomato (QVB)
• 7 Sept 2010 - New shop in QVB coming soon (QVB)
• 10 May 2010 - Coffee Eclair
• 3 Nov 2009 - Raspberry Tart
• 20 Oct 2009 - Fruit Tart
• 31 August 2009 - Italian Chicken Schnitzel Wrap
• 29 July 2009 - Concorde
• 9 June 2009 - Cannoli Siciliani (ricotta filling)
• 5 June 2009 - Rose Macaron, Brownie
• 2 June 2009 - Chocolate Eclair, Tiramisu, Lavanda Pasta Sfoglia, Zuppa Anglaise, Panna Cotta
• 27 May 2009 - Strawberry Tart
• 25 May 2009 - Polenta Pudding, Bacco
• 21 May 2009 - Lemon Tart

PS. If you do win a chance to buy the $90 cake I'd love to buy a slice!

Concorde $5

SIMON FAVOURITE :-)

Does it look like a fortress tower or gun barrel to you?

Concorde cut in half revealing meringue base and mousse interior

Take away box label

Afternoon customers

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Jaya Malaysian: Chicken Rice, Sydney (29 July 2009)

Maritime Trade Towers, Level 3, Retail Courtyard

201 & 207 Kent Street, Sydney NSW 2000

Chicken Rice Adventures

A recommendation by a reader on my recent post of Sayong's Chicken Rice sets me on a lunchtime adventure to find the Maritime Trader Towers and discover it's hidden Malaysian and Chinese takeaway within. It's one of those hidden places where you'd never know it was there unless you were told about it or worked in the offices above. The tranquil courtyard is surrounded above by tall glass buildings which mirror the sky and there's plenty of available seating. Friendly staff quickly serve you like an extended Asian family.

Now I've yet to come across a perfect chicken rice in Sydney because although it seems simple, so many things can go wrong in my books eg dry chicken, lack of taste, lack of ginger, awful soup, no garnish, small portions and too expensive. Jaya's version was recommended by a Hainanese reader but I think there's still room for improvement. I had the leg which was tender and moist but my colleague had the breast which was a bit dry. I liked the chilli and ginger sauce which packed a bit of a punch but the generous portion of rice lacked that distinctive gingery taste and was a little on the dry side. There was fresh cucumber and coriander garnish which was good to see. The soup broth had lots of flavour and included lots of choy sum which was great. Sayong for me still wins on chicken portion size, chicken moistness and rice yet Jaya wins on soup, chilli sauce and garnish. Combine the two and deliver it boneless with a side of bean sprouts and I think you've got a winner. I'd still like to come back to try their laksa and har mee.

Other visits to Jaya Malaysian:
• 11 Nov 2009 - Chicken Rice
• 13 August 2009 - Char Kway Teow
• 12 August 2009 - Chicken Laksa, Prawn Har Mee
• 29 July 2009 - Chicken Rice

Other places tried for Chicken Rice:
• Singapore Shiok!* - 29 Sept 2010
• Malacca Straits - 23 Jan 2010
• Yummy Chinese - 20 Jan 2010
• Laksa House - 24 Sept 2009
• Laksa King - 16 Sept 2009
• Malaysian Food House - 18 Aug 2009
• Malay-Chinese Takeaway - 6 Aug 2009
• Mc Lucksa - 5 Aug 2009
• Jaya Malaysian - 29 July 2009
• Sayong Curry & Laksa Malaysian Cuisine - 22 July 2009
• KL Kopitiam Malaysian Cuisine - 19 Oct 2009